The present invention relates generally to animal feeders, and more particularly, to a retractable shade for use with such feeders. The present invention is particularly useful with suspended feeders for providing shade and protection from inclement weather. Dry feeds, such as nuts and seeds, which are preferable to certain birds and squirrels, can prematurely spoil if exposed to adverse weather such as rain. Likewise, a nectar solution, preferable for attracting hummingbirds and generally contained in a reservoir, can become diluted if exposed to rain or can prematurely spoil if exposed to direct sunlight for extended periods of time.
Many individuals enjoy feeding and observing wildlife such as birds, hummingbirds, and squirrels. The animals are often observed in relative proximity to a feeder which is typically somewhere within view of a person's residence. As such, the feeders are often located in front of windows or located within garden areas. In an effort to maintain the integrity of the quality of feed contained in the dry-feed feeders, other dry-feed feeders have included a cover component. These cover components are not without their drawbacks. Some of the cover components hide the feed from the sight of birds that may be passing overhead or interfere with an animal's access to the feed. In an effort to increase the attractiveness of such feeders, other feeders include a cover that has some degree of transparency that allows birds to see the feed contained thereunder. Regardless of whether the cover component is opaque or has some degree of transparency, these cover structures reduce the accessibility of the animals to the feed contained within the feeder.
Conventional dry-feed feeders generally include some type of container constructed to be refilled with a feed such as nuts and seeds or any mixture thereof. Exposure of these feeds to moisture, such as rain, can prematurely spoil the feed and detract from the attraction of the animals thereto. Although these dry-feed containers are often constructed of a grated material to prevent the retention of water therein, cycles of wetting and drying of the feed can result in germination and/or premature degradation of the feed quality. Poor feed quality results in less animals being attracted to the feeder and reduces the duration of stay of animals that are attracted to the feeders.
Unlike dry-feed consuming animals, hummingbirds utilize a fluid “feed” material, or nectar. Hummingbird feeders generally include a reservoir with a base that is refillable and a top that is structured to accommodate the slender beak of a hummingbird. Hummingbird feeders are also adapted to prevent insects from infiltrating the feeder. Insects of particular concern include bees and wasps as well as ants as these insects are especially attracted to the sugar based fluid typically disposed in hummingbird feeders.
In an effort to prevent bees and wasps and other insects from feeding at the hummingbird feeder, hummingbird feeders have been adapted to prevent the insects from accessing the nectar placed in the reservoir by having specially adapted openings in the feeder that accommodate only the long slender beak of a hummingbird. Additionally, bees and wasps are particularly attracted to the color yellow; therefore, avoiding incorporation of yellow parts with a feeder helps to prevent bees and wasps from noticing the feeder despite having a sugar solution disposed therein. In contrast, hummingbirds are attracted to ultraviolet colors. As such, use of ultraviolet colors other than yellow is preferred to attract hummingbirds without attracting nuisance bees and wasps.
Other hummingbird feeders incorporate a moat in an effort to prevent crawling insects from feeding at the feeder. These moats are designed as a fluid reservoir such that crawling insects are required to cross the fluid filled reservoir in order to feed at the feeder. Other moat-based feeders implement a sticky substance that the insects must traverse in order to feed at the feeder. The purpose of this design is to cause the insects to stick in the sticky substance in the moat thereby preventing their feeding at the feeder.
Referring further to hummingbird feeders, the nectar of hummingbird feeders is usually sugar water and can vary in concentration from a ratio of approximately 1:1 to 1:5 parts sugar to water. If the proper amount of sugar is placed in the feeder, it will not require the addition of additives such as honey, brown sugar, fruit, or red food coloring to the fluid in order to attract hummingbirds. The higher the concentration of sugar to water placed in the feeder, the more attractive the feeder will be to hummingbirds. However, the higher the concentration, the less frequently those birds that are attracted to the feeder will need to feed. It has been suggested that once hummingbirds have been attracted to a feeder's position, the concentration of the liquid placed in the feeder reservoir can be reduced to more diluted concentrations in order to entice those hummingbirds that have been attracted to the feeder to feed more often.
In addition to the hummingbirds sensitivity to the concentration of the liquid placed in the feeder, hummingbirds are also particularly sensitive to the quality of the fluid in the feeder and may abandon a feeder that contains liquid that has spoiled. Spoilage can result from mold within the liquid reservoir, fermentation of the solution, or contaminants within the solution. A number of methods have been developed to extend the life of the fluid. For example, boiling the water to be used in the solution before measuring can retard spoilage of the liquid in the feeder by a day or two. Others suggest that using distilled water can also add to the life of the fluid. However, it has been suggested that distilled water may lack the minerals that hummingbirds need.
A significant accelerant to the spoilage of the hummingbird feed fluid is warm weather and direct sunlight. Some ornithologists have speculated that a hummingbird would starve rather than consume spoiled nectar. Certain nectar mixtures can spoil in as little as a few hours when exposed to direct sunlight in warm weather. Not only would the nectar require near-immediate replacement in order to maintain hummingbird feeding, the feeder itself should be thoroughly cleaned to avoid cross-contamination with the fresh nectar.
The preferred method for cleaning a hummingbird feeder is with hot tap water and a brush. Sometimes a black mold will appear within the feeder. This mold can be removed by soaking the entire feeder in a diluted bleach bath. Additionally, if the solution appears cloudy it has spoiled and will therefore no longer be consumed by hummingbirds. This process of cleaning the hummingbird feeder is time consuming. By extending the life of the nectar between filling and spoilage, the feeder will, as a result, require less cleanings.
Regardless of which animal is to be attracted to, and fed at, the feeder apparatus, it would be desirable to have a system and method of protecting the integrity of feed provided in a feeder by operatively providing shade/protection to a feed container/reservoir.